Sir Cliff Richard reassured his fans he is "back to his best" after a turbulent two years on Tuesday (23.08.16).
Sir Cliff Richard
The 75-year-old singer appeared tanned and relaxed at his Portuguese vineyard in his first public appearance since the death of his sister Donna Goulden earlier this month, and his loyal supporters will be hoping he's turned a corner and managing to put the stress of being accused of historical sex abuse behind him after the charges against him were dropped in June due to a lack of evidence.
Cliff's home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, was caught on camera by the BBC as it was raided by police in August 2014 following an allegation he had abused a 15-year-old boy in the 1980s, and days later he was voluntarily interviewed by police but not arrested or charged.
Two months later, a group of MPs branded South Yorkshire Police's handling of the raid "inept".
In February 2015, South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable David Crompton wrote to Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, to advise the investigation into the singer had "increased significantly in size" and "involves more than one allegation", prompting Cliff's lawyers to complain about the decision to make the letter public as it had exposed him to "a further round of unnecessary and extremely damaging media coverage with no due process".
In November that year, the 'Devil Woman' singer was again re-interviewed voluntarily about the allegations but still not charged.
A file relating to the claims was passed to prosecutors in May this year, and the following month the Crown Prosecution Service announced there was "insufficient evidence" to take the allegations further.
Cliff subsequently admitted he plans to sue the BBC and South Yorkshire Police over the raid on his home being broadcast, and expressed his frustration that the ruling of "insufficient evidence" meant people could always question his innocence.
He is also planning to campaign for a change in the law to protect the anonymity of those accused of sexual offenses.
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